The 2025 NFL Draft isn’t shaping up to be one of the stronger quarterback classes. Cam Ward is widely seen as the top QB in the group, but others, including Shedeur Sanders and Jaxson Dart, are bringing up plenty of questions.
Both Dart and Sanders have bounced around on draft boards. Most mock drafts still have Sanders going ahead of Dart.
If this were the 2024 draft, many analysts believe Sanders and Dart would fall much further. But quarterback demand is high, and teams are willing to take swings. Several franchises need help under center, like the Pittsburgh Steelers, who’ve been projected to take Dart with the 21st overall pick in some mocks. However, PFSN’s latest mock draft doesn’t even have Dart in the first round.
Dan Orlovsky Sees Jaxson Dart as a Top-10 Talent — Warns Teams to Dig Deep
Dan Orlovsky spent 11 seasons in the NFL, mostly as a backup quarterback. Now an analyst for ESPN, he shared his thoughts on Dart, saying he’s a fan but warned teams to do their homework.
“I’m a huge fan of Jaxson Dart’s. I think he’s a top-10 pick,” said Orlovsky, who acknowledged his view isn’t the norm. “I’m gonna show you two clips. One clip is as good as it gets.
“This is against Florida, and I would sit here and go, ‘This is the number one pick of the draft stuff.’ But then I’ll show you another clip, and you’ll go, ‘Dude, what the heck is this?’ This is late in the game, one score, a chance to go on the road and throw a game-tying touchdown, and it’s probably the worst play of the season.”
Orlovsky broke down the two plays. In the first, he highlighted how Dart used his eyes to move a defender off the target, creating space for a perfect throw to his receiver.
In the second play — same game — Orlovsky said Dart looked like a totally different quarterback. The concept was similar, and the protection was clean. But Dart forced a throw into an area swarmed by four defenders instead of hitting a wide-open crossing route, leading to an interception that cost Ole Miss the game.
“I don’t see you making those decisions consistently, not only in this game but in the season,” Orlovsky said about the inconsistency.
“So there’s one clip you sit there and go, if you’re the Steelers, ‘He ain’t getting to 21.’ Then you watch that late one, and if I were a team bringing in Jaxson Dart for a visit or sitting down with him, that would be the one play I’d want to watch first. The very first play would be the second play that I showed you with the interception, and I would say, ‘Talk to me. Tell me what happened here.'”
While Orlovsky stands by Dart as a potential top-10 pick, others disagree, seeing him more as second-round material. They argue that Dart is a better athlete than Sanders, but neither is considered “dynamic.” Dart struggled under pressure, taking multiple sacks late in games — especially down the stretch when his team needed him most.
Where Dart ends up remains a mystery. He could be seen as too much of a project or risk for teams to spend a first-round pick on.